Robin Rentch has created
her own piece of heaven in her backyard. On a sunny day the pond reflects
the native flowers and shrubs that border it. In the pond, a blue gill
guards its nest, snakes mate on the outfall pipe, and a bullfrog peers
through the leaves at the visitors.

For the last 30 years, Rentch has protected and nurtured her private
pond and the environment that surrounds it. Recently, as often happens, a
new residential development upstream from her property threatened to
impact her land in ways she had never imagined. The builder intended to
use her pond as the outfall for the increased runoff that the development
would create.

Alerted to the plan by NVSWCD staff, Rentch contacted the developer and
refused to let him drain water into her pond. “They might be able to
control the velocity [speed] of the runoff,” said Rentch, “but they will
not be able to filter the fertilizers and pesticides in the runoff that
would kill my healthy populations of frogs, turtles, snakes, and
crayfish.”

A perennial stream borders Rentch’s property. In accordance with the
Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance, a Resource Protection Area (RPA)
buffers the stream on either side, preventing most construction
activities. However, the ordinance allows certain exceptions, including
the installation of a stormwater pipe. To avoid using the pond as the
outfall, the developer chose to run a pipe through the RPA, taking out
mature trees in the process.

Rentch’s decisive action saved her pond, but she still laments the
outcome. “My pond may be protected, but the surrounding environment will
suffer the negative impact of this development.”